Tw Steak & Seafood

April 22, 2009|JOHN TANASYCHUK Sun Sentinel Staff Writer

First impression: Owner Alan Huei calls his establishment a "Continental-style restaurant with Oriental flavor." So along with well-prepared steak and seafood, you get still-crunchy, stir-fried Asian-style vegetables. It's the best of both worlds.

Ambience: The perfectly lit beige and brown dining room is a serene background for the food. I got the impression that many patrons are regulars from the neighborhood. I can see why.

Starters: Along with a very American shrimp cocktail ($10) and Boston clam chowder ($4), there are excellent Asian-style starters. We sampled Crispy Shrimp ($10) and Spicy Crispy Chicken Wings ($7), both served in a similarly sweet hoisin-based sauce. Lettuce Wrap with Chicken ($11) is not unlike the version served in the popular Asian chain. Chopped chicken is stir-fried in a garlic/sesame-infused sauce and then mixed with dried noodles for crunch when the mixture is wrapped inside the lettuce leaves.

Entree excellence: The steak portion of the menu includes a decent 14-ounce grilled rib-eye topped with sauteed onions ($24). There's also a 12-ounce strip ($23) and a 9-ounce filet ($27). There are just four pasta dishes, but I recommend Seafood Pasta ($21): linguine with shrimp, scallops, clams, calamari and mussels in a sauce that tasted almost North African. Huei says they start with a marinara and then add bay leaf and thyme. A special one night was incredible lemon-sauced bass stuffed with shrimp and scallops ($22). Many menu items are strictly Asian: Pad Thai with Shrimp (18), Crispy Shrimp in Orange Sauce ($20) and Thai Curry Chicken ($16). A standout was Ocean Jade ($27), chunks of rock lobster tail stir-fried with shrimp and fresh vegetables.

Side issues: All dinners come with a generous house salad served with the Asian vinaigrette that made Tony Wu in Delray Beach famous. You can purchase bottles to bring home.

Sweet!: As with salads, most dinners come with coffee and a choice of dessert: chocolate cake, carrot cake, New York cheesecake, brownie cheesecake or ice cream. Carrot cake was just serviceable. There's even a sugarless amaretto ice cream. Dessert and coffee is $4 when ordered a la carte.